Pillar makes four-star grab, crashes into wall

TORONTO -- Kevin Pillar's resume got a little bit thicker on Thursday night with yet another highlight-reel grab against the Orioles. The latest took extra bases away from Ruben Tejada.

Pillar, who is nicknamed Superman for his diving catches in the outfield, made the spectacular play during the seventh inning of a 2-0 loss. He ranged deep into the right-center-field gap before making a leaping grab and crashing into the wall.

TORONTO -- Kevin Pillar's resume got a little bit thicker on Thursday night with yet another highlight-reel grab against the Orioles. The latest took extra bases away from Ruben Tejada.

Pillar, who is nicknamed Superman for his diving catches in the outfield, made the spectacular play during the seventh inning of a 2-0 loss. He ranged deep into the right-center-field gap before making a leaping grab and crashing into the wall.

There was a gasp from the crowd of 37,281 after the sound of the impact resonated throughout Rogers Centre. Pillar remained on the ground for several seconds before eventually getting to his feet amidst a standing ovation. He remained in the game.

"That was boom, catch it and [right] into the wall," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "Hopefully he's all right, he seems all right. Kevin is pretty good out there. That's part of his game. He's not going to back off, and he wins you games doing that. Pretty good player."

According to Statcast™, it was deemed a four-star catch without factoring in the difficulty of hanging onto the ball after the impact at the wall. The center fielder ran an estimated 110 feet and had an opportunity time of 5.5 seconds to make the play. The ball had a 41 percent catch probability after it left Tejada's bat, and Pillar reached a sprint speed of 29.9 feet per second.

After the catch, starter J.A. Happ crouched down on the mound in concern for his teammate. Happ was as relieved as anyone when Pillar came away unscathed. He admitted that the Blue Jays have become accustomed to seeing Pillar take chances like that, and they usually pay off.

"That was incredible," Happ said. "Just no regard for his body at all. That was unbelievable. We almost get used to that, but it's fun to watch for sure."